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A Prelude to AChemS XXIX Trese Leinders-Zufall ([email protected]) The 29th annual meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences will be held at the Hyatt Sarasota Hotel in Sarasota, Florida from April 25-29, 2007. The 2007 AChemS program will include the following: Givaudan Lecture: Dr. Gene E. Robinson from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be this year’s Givaudan lecturer. His research group studies the regulation of social behavior. The research is integrative, involving perspectives from evolutionary biology, behavior, neuroscience, molecular biology, and genomics. SYMPOSIA: Connecting genetics and perceptual variations: The theme of this meeting is to highlight how information from the human genome project and human genetics is being applied to explain individual human variation in the perception of color, taste, and smell. Human axillae: Why?: This symposium examines the sources and functions of volatile compounds produced in the human axillae. Because the products of axillary glands are commonly labeled as malodorous and an industry has grown up around neutralizing this malodor, symposium speakers will discuss the concept of malodor and the strategies employed by the fragrance industry and sensory scientists to reduce or eliminate malodor. Olfaction beyond the olfactory bulb: From perception to memory: The basic theme of the symposium is how olfactory bulb output is translated into an integrated olfactory perception. It brings together multidisciplinary, comparative approaches to the basic questions of odor perception and memory. Neural coding in the chemical senses: This symposium will focus on gustatory and olfactory coding as viewed from a systems/network perspective. Gastrointestinal chemosensation: This is a newly arising field that is based on the observation that elements of the taste transduction pathway are present in the gastrointestinal tract and in specialized enteroendocrine cells. The questions addressed by this symposium is what role these chemosensory signaling elements play in appetite regulation, specific satieties, gut motility and glucose homeostasis. Contact chemosensory perception: From receptor to behavior: This symposium will present progress especially in functional characterization of specific receptors or receptor families in taste and pheromone perception. The focus will be on genetically tractable systems, mainly Drosophila and mouse, with a specific emphasis of the role of receptors, on various social and sexual behaviors. Parallel processing by multiple olfactory subsystems: In addition to the two major chemosensory systems (main olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ), there are reports of several subtypes of chemosensory neurons or epithelial cells using distinct signal transduction cascades. This symposium will focus on these newly reported olfactory subsystems. OTHER SPECIALITY SYMPOSIA: Presidential Symposium Industry Symposium: After last year’s success, there will be again a platform for industry, policy makers as well as academic scientists and graduate students to discuss applications and knowledge gleaned from industry and basic science. The symposium will be followed by a reception with buffet and cash bar. GWIZ Science Center: Educational outreach program for local Sarasota students. Please join to give demonstrations about the chemical senses. Contact for this program is Gina Nelson ([email protected]). WORKSHOPS: NIH Workshop Odor signaling in humans: Candidate compounds for human signaling molecules present in human secretions have been proposed to signal identity, emotion, gender and reproductive state. The intention of this workshop is to review and discuss the current state of the field. There is still much controversy about the whole issue of human pheromones and disagreement about the behavioral consequences of exposure to these compounds. Genomics approaches to study chemosensory receptors: In studying the genetics of chemosensory perception, tools such as bioinformatics analysis, comparative genomics, and gene expression shed light on the evolution of the chemical senses and species-specific selective pressures that shaped the repertoire of chemosensory receptor genes. This workshop will discuss these types of analysis and its usefulness in inferring the function of orphan receptors and identifying novel protein structure domains. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: Opening Buffet Minority and Clinical Travel Awardees Luncheon Industry Reception ChEMA (Chemosensory Enterprise and Mentorship Alliance) Social: Social to help ChEMA members and senior AChemS members get to know each other, network and talk about issues important to junior chemosensory scientists. Clinical Luncheon: Special Lecturer: Dr. L. Chin from NIDCD will talk about translational and clinical research programs. …..and of course our annual sports event and the beach.